Mark Braboy
Blue & White Flash / Staff Writer
President Barack Obama made headlines and sparked controversy with the announcement of his administration’s plans for gun control in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre and various other gun related incidents around the country.
Obama has announced that he will be implementing 23 Executive Orders to combat the recent rampage of gun violence and to prevent future tragedies from gun violence.
The executive order mandates the following: gun safety and responsible gun ownership, required and strengthened background checks for all gun sales including gun shows, a ban military style assault rifles and magazines (clips) with more than 10 rounds of ammunition as well as armor piercing bullets, require more counselors, resource officers, and better emergency response plans in schools, conduct further research on the prevention and the cause of gun violence, enhance legal tools for law enforcement to prevent and prosecute gun crime, nomination of an ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms) director, a call for better mental health treatment, and making sure that current health insurance covers mental health issues as well.
Tyrone Kidd, assistant director of Public Safety at Jackson State University, supports the President’s executive order.
“I think that it’s a law that isbeing put in place to help citizens, students and faculty. I don’t think it’s trying to take away the 2nd Amendment to bear arms. I think it’s to control the number of assault weapons that are being put out into the communities,” said Kidd.
Kidd reported it is very rare that students are caught with weapons on campus.
“We may get some students that call and say other students may have a weapon on campus and our officers react to it in a timely matter. We may have two to three a year, but not that often.”
He added, “Students are not allowed to have firearms on campus period! That’s not only [Jackson State], that’s a state law. Students that are caught with weapons on campus are subject to jail time, maybe until they go and see a judge. They are arrested for possession of a weapon on school property. A trial has to be set for them at a later date and time.”
Some JSU students also support the President’s executive order.
“I have to agree with President Obama’s plan for gun control,” said Tyra Suggs, a senior criminal justice major from East St. Louis, Ill. “When he first proposed all the initiatives, so many people had an issue with it, especially the Republicans in the House of Representatives.”
She added, “Then this Saturday, we have a 15 year old kill his mother, father, and two sisters with an assault rifle, and then we wonder why we don’t need gun change. We have all these people that say they have all these issues, but yet we are still having issues with assault rifles and things in the household.”
While most citizens feel that there should be a change in gun regulations and better methods in keeping assault weapons out of the hands of maniacs, others disagree. Most notably the National Rifle Association (NRA), right wing and firearm extremists, and House Republicans have all directed harsh criticism towards President Obama, even as far as demanding his impeachment should any of his executive orders be implemented.
“I think [assault rifles] should be outlawed. I don’t think they should be sold because there’s no reason for those types of weapons. What would you use an assault weapon for? You won’t use it for hunting! I’ve never known anyone to hunt with an assault rifle,” said John Maynie, a senior criminal justice major from Detroit, Mich. “People say protection but why do you need to carry an assault rifle around with you [for that reason]. There’s no need for that much of a high powered weapon.”
JSU has had incidents of gun violence on or near campus, including the historical Gibbs-Green murders of 1970, the Benjamin Hart shooting in the lobby of Jacob L. Reddix Campus Union, the 2009 assault of a professor near the John A. Peoples building, and the the 2012 murder of Nolan Ryan Henderson at the nearby Palisades apartments.
Kayla Hubbard, a senior psychology major from Magee, Miss. ,feels that safety is an issue at JSU.
“I just don’t feel safe. The security guards do not make me feel safe at JSU.”
Kidd advises that students register for the Emergency Notification System that is in place in case a mass shooting or any severe emergency occurs on campus.
“Jackson State has a policy that has been put into place by administrators on things that our students need to do as far as hunkering down in a classroom setting. We send out alerts right away and we ask our students to register for the alert system that we have in place for situations like [mass shootings].”
